Last Updated:
The minister, who has been serving as a cabinet minister in the second Yogi Adityanath government, stirred a row with his remarks, with many leaders slamming him.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pulls down woman’s hijab at an event.
Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad has ignited controversy with his crude comments in defence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s recent act of removing a woman doctor’s hijab during a public event in Patna.
While speaking to a local news channel about the incident, Nishad provocatively asked what would have happened if Kumar had “touched somewhere else”.
“Arey, woh bhi toh aadmi hain na, peeche nahi padna chahiye. Naqab chhoo diya toh itna ho gaya…kahin aur chhoo dete toh kya ho jaata (He’s also a human being after all. One should not hound him like this. Just by touching the ‘hijab’ caused such an uproar, what would have happened if he had touched something else),” he said.
The minister, who has been serving as a cabinet minister in the second Yogi Adityanath government, stirred a row with his remarks, with many leaders slamming him.
Opposition Slams
Following this, Samajwadi Party leader Sumaiya Rana filed a complaint against Nishad over his remarks, seeking an FIR and legal action against him.
Samajwadi Party MP from Kairana, Iqra Hasan, also strongly criticised the incident. “Pulling a woman’s hijab or even her dupatta is wrong and dangerous. If such behaviour comes from someone holding the highest constitutional post in the state, it sends a very disturbing message down the administrative chain,” she said.
Iqra Hasan expressed concern over Nitish Kumar’s health, while maintaining that the dignity of the office must be upheld regardless. “He is elderly and respected, but the position he holds has its own sanctity. Such conduct goes against that dignity,” she said, adding that the issue should not be reduced to a religious debate. “This is about a woman’s dignity and personal choice.”
Launching an attack on Nishad, former Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh called his remarks “vile” and “misogynistic”. He further demanded immediate action against the minister and called for his resignation.
“The hijab is sacred to Muslim women. Violating it is assault. Mocking it is despicable. This mindset is exactly why women and minorities feel unsafe under BJP’s governance, where slogans like “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” are reduced to empty slogans. No woman of any RELIGION deserves this,” he wrote on X.
While expressing similar concerns, Deobandi cleric Maulana Qari Ishaq Gora from Saharanpur said the matter transcends one individual. “This is about the honour, privacy and self-respect of women across the country. Interfering with a woman’s attire against her will goes against the principles of humanity,” he said.
Minister Issues clarification
Following the backlash, the UP minister clarified his statement, saying there were “no ill intentions”. “The statement over which a controversy is being created today was said by me, smiling, casually, and in my local Bhojpuri dialect. There was no ill intention towards any community, any woman, or any religion, nor was there any intent to insult,” he said.
Row Over Nitish Kumar’s ‘Hijab’ Act
Nitish Kumar, on Monday, gave rise to a controversy where he pulled a ‘hijab’ down from a woman’s face during a government event in Patna. A video of the incident went viral on social media.
The 74-year-old JD(U) chief can be seen handing a certificate to an AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) doctor during the event. He motioned her to remove her ‘hijab’, but before she could react, he reached out and pulled it down himself – exposing her mouth and chin.
The incident sparked a huge row with the Opposition questioning Kumar’s mental state.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. Bihar, India, India
December 17, 2025, 12:51 IST
Read More
